Author: Kenneth Morris

There are different types of antiques especially from Asia (China mostly) that can be incorporated into achieving that unique interior look in your home. The world of design and interior home décor is rapidly changing hence the need to learn the best and latest ways you can have your house get that Asian look. So how do you define your home to get that awesome look?

You need to begin by assessing the furniture and different antiques that are already in your home. Sort them one after the other and retain what your house needs. De-clutter your living room to get more space that will enable you place different antiques at the right place. You can as well decide which color suits your room but do not paint it black because black color is associated with depression and limited thinking in Feng Shui. You can choose to paint the walls with colors like yellow or light blue. Some colors usually create that extra ‘negative’ space that your room needs. K. Ann Brizolis, who specializes in Rancho Santa Fe luxury homes, says many of her most discerning clients hire professional interior designers to help them craft a look that works with existing furniture, bridging the historic and the modern.

The different rooms in your home should be well defined according to their uses. For instance, your living room’s décor should not be the same as your bedroom or meditation room. As you arrange your rooms to suit their uses, you need to understand that the fireplace, windows, entrances and ceiling level are the main focal points of your rooms’ architecture.

After defining your rooms as per their different uses you will now need to have the furniture or things you feel good being around you. Arrange them in your favorite room while sticking to the Feng Shui arrangement principles.

The art you select should complement the natural décor common with many Asian homes. Creation of an Asian-like fusion in your home entails sticking to the interior design looks that are recommended by majority of Asian cultures. You can choose to place a statue of your favorite Buddha at a designated point away from room traffic so that your room can make a statement about its look.

Shelves

Use shelves to show the collection of Asian antiques you own. Place that valuable and beautiful jade collection on your shelve space to match with your home environment. Shelves are not only made for books and your library stuff, you can also arrange some of the rare and sizeable pottery collection on those shelves. Make your home achieve Asian fusion in-terms of appearance and arrangement. Your antiques should match with the color of your room. The antiques you display on your shelves will have an impact on the palette of your home, so it is important to display your antiques in a manner that will help you achieve that great look.

Pine Chinese cabinet

You can have the inside of your cabinet painted with a light green color and arrange your cutlery and crockery inside such that the background of the cabinet from the inside matches with your kitchen. A kitchen painted yellow or golden will go well with your pine Chinese cabinet.

Chinese saddle chairs

When arranged around a table, these glowing Chinese chairs bring the best Asian look into your home. Your chair and the table chosen should be able to match with the interior color of the room. The room can either be well lit with bright colors or the natural light which would mean large windows to allow enough light.

Asian decor has varied drastically throughout time. For a majority of people when asked about Asian aesthetics and decor, antique furniture comes to mind. However, if you step into a modern day apartment in an Asian country, you will be in for quite the surprise.

Asian decor has gone from the opulent and detail oriented carvings, to a more sleek and modern feel. A majority of times, young professionals choose to live within big cities, and thus must opt to live in a smaller apartment. This is highly reflective on the rising popularity of the multi-functional furniture.

Below is an interesting video that depicts various modern Asian bedroom designs.

Apart from being famous for their rich culture, Asian countries are also known for manufacturing some of the best antiques in the whole world. Asian furniture has penetrated into many global markets due to its durability and beauty. Asia has produced some of the world’s most beautiful antique furniture that is currently in high demand especially in many western countries, and around the world. This is especially true in California, home to famous celebrities who often put up multiple residences throughout Southern California. Their opulent decorated homes often import their luxurious furniture and art from Asian countries. Many high-end neighborhoods are now seeing these kinds of developments. From waterfront estates in Malibu to tasteful mansions at The Crosby, more and more luxury home owners are choosing to incorporate Asian influences into their interior decor.

Driven by their loyalty and love for their culture, Asian countries are proud of their culture and decadent art, as it is of a sturdy and durable quality, fit for a luxurious home. When looking for the best Asian antique furniture, there are certain key tips you need to know so that you can be able to find the best. Classical Asian furniture embraces the great craftsmanship and artistry that is very common with some cultures across this great continent. For instance, ancient Chinese furniture comprised of beds, chairs and stools which had their unique design mostly identified among the Chinese people. So how can you find the best Asian antiques for your home?

You need to do a detailed research on what you want to buy. There are many replicas out there waiting for people to buy them at almost the same price of original Asian antique furniture. You need to have a closer look at aspects that can help you verify the authenticity of any Asian antique furniture. Look at the tone or color of the furniture before purchasing because it might be helpful. Is that furniture made from the material most Asian antique furniture is made from?

For instance Tibetan furniture is one of the best Asian antique furniture that can be found in different stores in Asia. These beautiful pieces from Tibet enable any purchaser to get in touch and appreciate Asian culture.

Tibetan Prayer Table

Tibetan prayer table is one of the unique furniture that you can have in your home and appreciate this great and ancient culture from the Tibet region. They are hand painted Buddhist prayer tables that symbolize the way Tibetan monks prayed and their religious culture.

Tibetan Trunks

Used by monks in 1244, Tibetan trunks are one of the antique furniture by Tibetan artists during the Sange monasteries. They are made of cedar which the Tibetan people knew as Choyon in the early centuries and identify the same with their rich culture across the world.

Chinese Lacquerware Table

Most of Chinese furniture is made from rosewood which is a hardwood tree species. For example Chinese Lacquerware table was first made during the Ming dynasty using some of the best rosewood trees of that time giving it the rare quality always associated with this table.

When arranging some of the Asian antique furniture, it is important to have a circular formation of chairs around the table while avoiding giving your back to the main entrance for Feng Shui purposes.

Your bed should be arranged in such a way that it does not get aligned with the entrance into the room because it can interfere with the flow of energy. All in all it is important to arrange your home furniture while ensuring Feng Shui principles are adhered.

Chinese art is one of the oldest forms of art in the world. Characterized by art from different dynasties, the Chinese people are proud of their ancient art including different types of sculptures that are treasured by almost every Chinese. These sculptures clearly show the age and different time periods their culture has gone through, right from the oldest dynasty in their history. The top 5 ancient Chinese sculptures hail from the following dynasties.
• Xia dynasty
• Shang dynasty
• Zhou dynasty
• Qin dynasty
• Han dynasty
• Jin dynasty
• Sui dynasty
• Tang dynasty
• Song dynasty
Sculptures from a number of these dynasties are used to show the concept and the artistic prowess held by the Chinese people, as a way of depicting and representing their historical transformation.

Here are the Top 5 Ancient Chinese Sculptures:

1. Chinese Jade
Chinese jade is a sculpture made from a treasured Chinese ornamental stone mostly used to make some of the jewelry products the Chinese identify themselves with. It is a belief among the Chinese that these jade sculptures are used to symbolize purity, immortality, and beauty. Jade is valued a lot among the Chinese people and to them it is more beautiful than gold. In ancient times, Jade was strictly used by elite people, mainly emperors and leaders, to symbolize their power and the value of this rare stone. Ritual vessels and other important objects also had some jade carvings symbolizing beauty. One of their leaders Zhe Sheng was buried in a jade suit to help preserve his body and symbolize the power he held.

2. Leshan Giant Buddha
Leshan Buddha sculpture is known to be the largest carved Buddha in the world. This ancient Chinese sculpture dates back almost 1300 years, when stone carvings and general art was part of some of the most famous Chinese dynasties. Many monks across the world believe that the sculpture is actually an ancient monk called Maitreya the son of Sakyamuni. The latter is believed to have founded Buddhism. Buddhists across the world occasionally visit this stone carving near Mt Emei to symbolize their loyalty to Sakyamuni.
It is believed that this stone carving took over 90 years to be sculpted by Hai Tong and his disciples with an aim of appeasing the gods to stop the turbulent waters of rivers from killing the local people, as many families in boats were drowning in the river. The government during the Tang dynasty turned down Hai Tong’s request multiple times to fund him so that he could construct this sculpture to appease the gods of waters. He had to remove one of his eyeballs to convince the politicians in the government who then decided to listen to his request and fund him. It was so unfortunate that Hai Tong died before finishing carving the Leshan Buddha but his students stepped up and finished carving the world’s biggest stone carving.

3. Terracotta Army sculptures.
Discovered by people who were digging a well in Xi’an, China back in 1974, Terracotta army sculptures are one of the biggest archeological discoveries ever made. Available ancient evidence shows that the emperor behind the sculpting of Terracotta army was Ying Zeng the first Emperor of Qin. After taking the throne Ying Zeng decided to change his name to Qin so as to unify the different kingdoms into one. With the help of over 600,000 workers, Ying embarked on sculpting this ancient mausoleum with the sole aim of accompanying him in his leadership from 246 B.C. After taking the throne Ying Zeng decided to change his name to Qin which was as a result of unifying different kingdoms into one.
Apart from being the person behind Terracotta mausoleum, Qin was the first person to have laid the initial foundations of The Great Walls of China. The sudden death of Qin in 209 B.C led to an end in sculpting the 7,000 soldiers armed with swords and other weapons.

4. Mogao Caves
These caves found just above River Dachuan were first constructed in 366AD to represent some of the achievements that Buddhists had accomplished in the 4TH century. The contents of almost 492 caves are murals covering a very large area of approximately 46,000 square meters and up to 2000 sculptures. Other Mogao caves have sculptured items that depicted the active trade lifestyle during the Sui dynasty. Trade was their main economic activity hence the camel and middlemen sculptures located in cave number 302.

5. Rongxian Buddha sculpture
This is the second largest Buddha sculpture after Leshan Buddha. It is approximately 39 meters in height. It is located in Rongxian county. Many monks know it as the third Buddha of the world. It is one of the greatest sculptures by ancient Chinese monks. Rongxian Buddha sculpture is one of the most famous Chinese Sculptures in history. It has stood the test of time, and it is highly visited by thousands of people from all over the world each year.

Since the beginning of time, humans have utilized countless of mediums to represent and record history. Not only have humans taken to writing history, they have also painted and sculpted it. China, is for this context, well known for its masters of painting, which through their art they have portrayed their environments as seen through their eyes and thoughts. Many famous painters have used their unique techniques to capture a range of landscapes and quotidian experiences. From the scenic mountain ranges, to rivers, flowers, and animals alike, different cultures have depicted it all with their own style.

Chinese history is rich in art, thus this task of compiling the top five most famous paintings throughout Chinese history was no easy feat. Here they are, and the incredibly skilled artists behind them.

1. Along the River During the Qingming Festival by Zhang Zeduan
The Painting of Along the River During the Qingming Festival, is the creative work of Zhang Zeduan of Northern Song Dynasty. This painting is found in the palace museum as a national treasure in the Beijing City. The 528.7cm by 24.8cm scroll represents economic activities in urban and countryside areas. People of all ranks and their daily lives from the city of Bianjing during Qingming Festival which occurred in the Northern Song Dynasty are captured in this painting as well. The painting has three parts; a spring in the countryside, an eventful Bianhe River Ports, and the thriving city streets.

2.Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy by Yan Liben
The work of painter Yan Liben made its mark in history.The beautiful Painting of Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy, was carefully done on silk. He existed in the primary years of the Tang Dynasty running from 618 to 907. His work is an integration of history and artistic techniques and is found in the palace Museum, Beijing. The 129.6cm by 38.5cm painting portrays the friendly interaction between the Tang dynasty and Turbo in 641. On the tough silk painting, the emperor is seen sitting on a sedan peacefully, while he is surrounded by maids with fans and one with a red canopy. An official in the royal court is seen on left and is in red. The emperor is held in an awe by the envoy. The person on the left in white, is an interpreter for the envoy.

3. Nymph of the Luo River by Gu Kaizhi
The painting work of Gu Kaizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, from 317-420, the Nymph of the Luo River has been famously revered. The famous painting is an illustration of a romance poem by Caro Zhi from the state Wei of the three Kingdoms Period. It was collected and preserved by the Palace Museum, Beijing. It narrates the meeting and the breakup of Cao Zhi and the Nymph of the Luo River. In the painting, Tension is captured through collection of figures such as trees, stone as well as mountains. The genesis of landscape Chinese painting development is represented by this scroll of painting.

4. The Noble Ladies In Tang Dynasty by Zhang Xuan & Zhou Fang
The Noble Ladies In Tang Dynasty Painting. The skilled duo, Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang, were amongst the most recognized painters during the Tang Dynasty. The serial paintings depict the lonely life of ladies at a court where they are only taught to be beautiful and graceful. Thus showing the disparity in gender roles, and truly depicted how life for the noblewomen was like. These paintings are found in a vast array of museum nationwide.

5. Five Oxen by Han Huang
Lastly, we explore the painting of Five Oxen. The work of painter Han Huang who was also a prime minster in the Tang Dynasty. The 139.8cm by 20.8cm painting scroll depicts five well fed oxen in various postures and coloration. The oxen display the spirit of willingness to endure hard labor without complaints. A vast array of brushstrokes are utilized in the drawing and it can be found in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Chinese paintings are of global historical importance as they display some of longest practiced artistic traditions. With such an ancient history and culture, these famous paintings have helped historians get a closer look at the varying points in time.